1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recorder which discharges ink from an orifice and deposits it onto a record medium such as a sheet to record data, and more particularly to an ink jet recorder having removal means for removing nonused ink discharged from the orifice.
2. Related Background Art
An ink jet recorder which discharges ink to record data has been known. Such an ink jet recorder usually comprises an ink jet record head having an ink discharge function such as a liquid path including an orifice through which ink is discharged, discharge energy generation means for supplying discharge energy to the ink, and an ink supply system including an ink tank from which the ink is supplied to the ink jet record head externally of the head.
In such an ink jet recorder, when an environment in which the recorder is used changes or the recorder has not been used for a long time, a viscosity of the ink in the liquid path increases or air bubbles are generated in the ink supply system, and the ink may not be discharged or is hardly discharged. Thus, the ink jet recorder usually has an ink recovery system including a liquid seal member such as a cap to prevent evaporation of the ink from the orifice during non-record mode in order to prevent the viscosity of ink from increasing, and a recirculation pump for discharging the high viscosity ink and air bubbles in the liquid path out of the liquid path.
When such an ink recovery system is operated to recover the discharge operation in liquid path, nonused ink discharged from the ink jet orifice drops along the ink jet record head. If it is left, the vicinity of the head is made dirty. Accordingly, an exhaust ink receptacle is provided below the ink jet record head or a liquid absorbing material such as porous ceramics is provided in the ink jet record head to prevent the recorder from being made dirty by the ink.
However, the exhaust ink dropped through the recovery operation may adhere easily to the vicinity of the orifice, and if it is left, the recording may not be attained or the quality of the record is degraded. Even if it does not adhere, the nonused ink gradually piles up in the vicinity of the orifice through long-time use and the piled nonused ink impedes the discharge of the ink. Further, dust may deposit onto the nonused ink and the discharge of the ink is impeded. The discharge of the nonused ink from the orifice may occur by a sudden rise of ambient temperature. Solution for the problem relating to the nonused ink has been required.